This is one of the few CBCs that is set almost entirely in an urban environment. The count circle does contain a few areas of undeveloped land that usually hold a few surprises since they are surround by development. It is possible to see up to 15 species of sparrows on this count, including the elusive Henslow’s and Grasshopper Sparrows. Other “Special Birds” seen over the past several years have been: Hooded Merganser, American Bittern, Solitary Sandpiper, American Woodcock, Common Ground-Dove, Black Phoebe, Couch’s Kingbird, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Spotted Towhee, Eastern Towhee, Rusty Blackbird, Purple Finch and Pine Siskin.There are two ways to participate: (1) Be a Field Observer – Join one of the teams in the field. (2) Be a Feeder/Yard Watcher – Because so much of the Buffalo Bayou CBC area is residential, Feeder Watchers (those who stay at home and observe their feeder, yard and/or neighborhood) are extremely important to the count and greatly increase the efficiency of the count by observing species that otherwise would not be seen, such as hummingbirds. For more information please visit houstonaudubon.org/birding/christmas-bird-counts.

Workdays are held once a month, October through March on the second Saturday of the month. We start work around 8:30 AM and work until about noon, when we break for lunch, provided by Houston Audubon and prepared by the lunch crew. Lunch at the picnic area of Boy Scout Woods is a good chance to visit with other volunteers and recharge from a morning of exercise and work. After lunch, we take about an hour to tie up any loose ends and clean up.

Come be a part of sanctuary maintenance, habitat restoration, and Houston Audubon’s amazing volunteer workforce. Email Pete Deichmann at pdeichmann@houstonaudubon.org for more information or to be put on the email list.

Houston Audubon in partnership with the Baytown Nature Center is leading a monthly count at the Baytown Nature Center. David Hanson is the leader. The survey is usually conducted on the third Thursday of each month, September through May, and results are posted on eBird. The survey normally begins at 8 AM. Fore more information, visit houstonaudubon.org.

Classroom sessions are normally held in the administration building which is the brick building you first come to on the gravel drive as you enter the sanctuary. On a rare occasion we meet in the log cabin, which is the second building.

Field trip locations: We will review all the details for the field trip in class. The instructor will be checking for bird activity the week of the class to maximize our opportunity to see birds. You will be provided info by email on what to bring and complete driving directions to our meeting location a few days before the field trip.

Waterfowl: January 23-27, 2018

The Upper Texas Coast is an amazing area for wintering waterfowl. Each year we have thousands of ducks (24 species possible) and thousands of geese (5 species possible) and mergansers (2 species). While the identification of male ducks is often straightforward, the same cannot be said of the more cryptically colored females. Therein lies the challenge and fun of duck identification. We will learn techniques for separating the 24 species of ducks, the different species of geese, and the mergansers.

Secretive and challenging to identify are what make this group of birds Fun. The Upper Texas Coast is a great place to see wintering sparrows. Learn the key principles of identification that will enable you to separate the 17 different species that are possible. After this class you will no longer call sparrows little brown birds, you will recognize them as sparrows.

Shorebirds are an elegant and beautiful group of birds that grace our shores, marshes, and fields. The upper coast is one of the best places in North America to enjoy and learn about Shorebirds. Some species are seen primarily in migration, some primarily during winter and others we have throughout the year. Join us to learn how to simplify the identification of shorebirds. Through an organized and systematic approach to identification, you will soon learn to recognize most of the shorebirds. For the peeps, well that takes a little more time and practice but we will get you on the right path to learn these small, challenging and beautiful shorebirds also. This class is open to all levels of birders and photographers.

People come from all over the world to the Houston Audubon High Island Sanctuaries to experience the migration and arrival of the “jewels” of the bird world. Learn about the remarkable migration journey of these small and beautiful birds. Learn the principles to identify the 37 different species of warblers that are possible to see in our area as well as other spring migrant songbirds. This class is open to all levels of birders and photographers.

Glenn Olsen

INSTRUCTOR

Glenn Olsen leads natural history and birding tours with GOBirding Ecotours and teaches bird identification, gardening for birds and butterflies, and nature-related classes through Rice University’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, Houston Audubon, Katy Prairie Conservancy, and the Texas Master Naturalist program. He has served on the Houston Audubon Board as Vice President of Education and also served as an Audubon Warden monitoring colonial nesting birds in Rockport, TX. He is currently Region 8 Director for the Texas Ornithological Society. Two of his many other efforts towards conservation include monitoring endangered Attwater’s Prairie Chickens at the Nature Conservancy’s Texas City Preserve and co-founding the Wildscapes Workshop through the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) where he served as president of both the Houston Chapter and the State NPSOT. He has led field trips and/or given programs for meetings of the Texas Ornithological Society, Houston Audubon, Houston Arboretum, the Native Plant Society of Texas, Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, Rockport Hummer/Bird Festival, Galveston FeatherFest, and other groups and festivals. Glenn has led trips to such exotic locales as Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Amazon Rainforest, Costa Rica and the hottest birding locations in the U.S.

Workdays are held once a month, October through March on the second Saturday of the month. We start work around 8:30 AM and work until about noon, when we break for lunch, provided by Houston Audubon and prepared by the lunch crew. Lunch at the picnic area of Boy Scout Woods is a good chance to visit with other volunteers and recharge from a morning of exercise and work. After lunch, we take about an hour to tie up any loose ends and clean up.

Come be a part of sanctuary maintenance, habitat restoration, and Houston Audubon’s amazing volunteer workforce. Email Pete Deichmann at pdeichmann@houstonaudubon.org for more information or to be put on the email list.

Houston Audubon in partnership with the Baytown Nature Center is leading a monthly count at the Baytown Nature Center. David Hanson is the leader. The survey is usually conducted on the third Thursday of each month, September through May, and results are posted on eBird. The survey normally begins at 8 AM. Fore more information, visit houstonaudubon.org.

Classroom sessions are normally held in the administration building which is the brick building you first come to on the gravel drive as you enter the sanctuary. On a rare occasion we meet in the log cabin, which is the second building.

Field trip locations: We will review all the details for the field trip in class. The instructor will be checking for bird activity the week of the class to maximize our opportunity to see birds. You will be provided info by email on what to bring and complete driving directions to our meeting location a few days before the field trip.

Sparrows: February 20-24, 2018

Secretive and challenging to identify are what make this group of birds Fun. The Upper Texas Coast is a great place to see wintering sparrows. Learn the key principles of identification that will enable you to separate the 17 different species that are possible. After this class you will no longer call sparrows little brown birds, you will recognize them as sparrows.

Shorebirds are an elegant and beautiful group of birds that grace our shores, marshes, and fields. The upper coast is one of the best places in North America to enjoy and learn about Shorebirds. Some species are seen primarily in migration, some primarily during winter and others we have throughout the year. Join us to learn how to simplify the identification of shorebirds. Through an organized and systematic approach to identification, you will soon learn to recognize most of the shorebirds. For the peeps, well that takes a little more time and practice but we will get you on the right path to learn these small, challenging and beautiful shorebirds also. This class is open to all levels of birders and photographers.

People come from all over the world to the Houston Audubon High Island Sanctuaries to experience the migration and arrival of the “jewels” of the bird world. Learn about the remarkable migration journey of these small and beautiful birds. Learn the principles to identify the 37 different species of warblers that are possible to see in our area as well as other spring migrant songbirds. This class is open to all levels of birders and photographers.

Glenn Olsen

INSTRUCTOR

Glenn Olsen leads natural history and birding tours with GOBirding Ecotours and teaches bird identification, gardening for birds and butterflies, and nature-related classes through Rice University’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, Houston Audubon, Katy Prairie Conservancy, and the Texas Master Naturalist program. He has served on the Houston Audubon Board as Vice President of Education and also served as an Audubon Warden monitoring colonial nesting birds in Rockport, TX. He is currently Region 8 Director for the Texas Ornithological Society. Two of his many other efforts towards conservation include monitoring endangered Attwater’s Prairie Chickens at the Nature Conservancy’s Texas City Preserve and co-founding the Wildscapes Workshop through the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) where he served as president of both the Houston Chapter and the State NPSOT. He has led field trips and/or given programs for meetings of the Texas Ornithological Society, Houston Audubon, Houston Arboretum, the Native Plant Society of Texas, Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, Rockport Hummer/Bird Festival, Galveston FeatherFest, and other groups and festivals. Glenn has led trips to such exotic locales as Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Amazon Rainforest, Costa Rica and the hottest birding locations in the U.S.

Workdays are held once a month, October through March on the second Saturday of the month. We start work around 8:30 AM and work until about noon, when we break for lunch, provided by Houston Audubon and prepared by the lunch crew. Lunch at the picnic area of Boy Scout Woods is a good chance to visit with other volunteers and recharge from a morning of exercise and work. After lunch, we take about an hour to tie up any loose ends and clean up.

Come be a part of sanctuary maintenance, habitat restoration, and Houston Audubon’s amazing volunteer workforce. Email Pete Deichmann at pdeichmann@houstonaudubon.org for more information or to be put on the email list.

Houston Audubon in partnership with the Baytown Nature Center is leading a monthly count at the Baytown Nature Center. David Hanson is the leader. The survey is usually conducted on the third Thursday of each month, September through May, and results are posted on eBird. The survey normally begins at 8 AM. Fore more information, visit houstonaudubon.org.

Classroom sessions are normally held in the administration building which is the brick building you first come to on the gravel drive as you enter the sanctuary. On a rare occasion we meet in the log cabin, which is the second building.

Field trip locations: We will review all the details for the field trip in class. The instructor will be checking for bird activity the week of the class to maximize our opportunity to see birds. You will be provided info by email on what to bring and complete driving directions to our meeting location a few days before the field trip.

Shorebirds: March 27-31, 2018

Shorebirds are an elegant and beautiful group of birds that grace our shores, marshes, and fields. The upper coast is one of the best places in North America to enjoy and learn about Shorebirds. Some species are seen primarily in migration, some primarily during winter and others we have throughout the year. Join us to learn how to simplify the identification of shorebirds. Through an organized and systematic approach to identification, you will soon learn to recognize most of the shorebirds. For the peeps, well that takes a little more time and practice but we will get you on the right path to learn these small, challenging and beautiful shorebirds also. This class is open to all levels of birders and photographers.

People come from all over the world to the Houston Audubon High Island Sanctuaries to experience the migration and arrival of the “jewels” of the bird world. Learn about the remarkable migration journey of these small and beautiful birds. Learn the principles to identify the 37 different species of warblers that are possible to see in our area as well as other spring migrant songbirds. This class is open to all levels of birders and photographers.

Glenn Olsen

INSTRUCTOR

Glenn Olsen leads natural history and birding tours with GOBirding Ecotours and teaches bird identification, gardening for birds and butterflies, and nature-related classes through Rice University’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, Houston Audubon, Katy Prairie Conservancy, and the Texas Master Naturalist program. He has served on the Houston Audubon Board as Vice President of Education and also served as an Audubon Warden monitoring colonial nesting birds in Rockport, TX. He is currently Region 8 Director for the Texas Ornithological Society. Two of his many other efforts towards conservation include monitoring endangered Attwater’s Prairie Chickens at the Nature Conservancy’s Texas City Preserve and co-founding the Wildscapes Workshop through the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) where he served as president of both the Houston Chapter and the State NPSOT. He has led field trips and/or given programs for meetings of the Texas Ornithological Society, Houston Audubon, Houston Arboretum, the Native Plant Society of Texas, Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, Rockport Hummer/Bird Festival, Galveston FeatherFest, and other groups and festivals. Glenn has led trips to such exotic locales as Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Amazon Rainforest, Costa Rica and the hottest birding locations in the U.S.